Just as an update. After about a month and a half, I got the camera back today. Apparently the main board failed. Just happened out of nowhere. Anyways, everything is fixed and Sony gave the newest firmware, new circuit boards to fix the battery drain issue, and new outer camera pieces to fix the lettering falling off. It's better than new now!

my camera froze and had to pull the battery to shut it off
I sent it to honolulu and the bench monkey said it had two corroded boards due to salt water. They could not find a trail where the water came in and said it was not under warranty because sony doesn't cover salt water. they wanted 600 to fix it. low hours on camera and it lived in a water proof pelican and never made a trip to the beach. I called sony customer service center in Florida and they said Honolulu is not authorized to repair EX-1s, get the camera back and send to LA. Apparently Teaneck and LA are the only places that can fix EX-1s.
i think the boards were corroded when they went into the camera
i have lost a lot of faith in Sony, but i will let you know how it plays out
aloha
tito

Hmm ... Tito,
I was also told corrosion due to salt water, though they may have confused salt on the handle with stuff left over from old gaffers tape. This wasn't actually from Sony but from a tech I sent it to try to avoid having to go to Sony. They had to send it Sony eventually anyway.
Likewise - no way was my camera exposed to salt water.

Interesting theory on your part that the board was corroded in the first place
What's your serial number ?
What were the boards?

serial number is 112747
if there was salt water damage there would be a trail from where it came in.
if it came in there is a problem with the cover
this is what Dean emailed me and i think if any one knows how this camera works on or near the salt its him.

Hi Tito...

Would be interesting to see if there's any other evidence of salt
water or other fluid intrusion. To get inside the camera it has to
have touched other parts on the way in. Salt water in particular
leaves a trail.

If there's no evidence of intrusion, it would indicate that the boards
were contaminated prior to assembly.

Use internal Reset All function.
Then turn off camera and pull the internal battery.
Turn on and then off with NOTHING (internal or external battery) connected. That's just to make sure any residual power is drained.
Let it sit for a day. That should make sure it's fully drained.
Install the new internal battery and power the camera (can be external battery).
If you still have the problem then there is an issue with the camera, my guess.

Turned on the EX3 today and it only shows the XDCam logo and reboots itself- infinitely even in media mode. I have tried all of the steps in this thread with no luck. I am in a humid location, but I have been in more severe conditions in salt water conditions for longer periods with no problems. Is there a hard reset button on the camera? I'm in Kauai and would like to continue capturing video while I'm here. Thanks.